Frankfurt Preview: European Championship That Could Double as the Worlds

Kristian Blummenfelt wins the 2024 IRONMAN European Championship Frankfurt. Photo: Jan Hetfleisch/Getty Images for IRONMAN

With a star-studded field that includes virtually all of the men we anticipate to be the favorites at the IRONMAN World Championship in Nice this September, this weekend’s IRONMAN Frankfurt European Championship promises quite a show. American and Canadian viewers will be able to watch it on Outside TV, while international fans can enjoy the race on proseries.ironman.com, DAZN, iQIYI, L’Équipe Live, ESPN (within Disney+), and YouTube. (The pro men head off at 6:20 am local time.)

The stacked pro men’s field (the women’s European championship took place in Hamburg) includes defending champion and 2021 IRONMAN world champion Kristian Blummenfelt (NOR), reigning IRONMAN world champion Patrick Lange (GER), three-time Roth champ and runner-up at last year’s worlds in Kona, Magnus Ditlev (DEN), last year’s third-place finisher from Kona, Rudy von Berg (USA) and Gustav Iden (NOR), the 2022 IRONMAN world champ.

Those are just a few of the 55 names on the start list (by race day that number will likely be closer to 40 pros) for the weekend that also includes last year’s runner-up in Frankfurt, Kieran Lindars (GBR) and two-time Olympian Jonas Schomburg (GER), who is competing in his second full-distance race after his third place finish behind Ditlev and Marten Van Riel (BEL) in South Africa. The pro men will be competing for their share of the US$87,500 prize purse.

In addition to the big pro race, IRONMAN says it’s expecting roughly 3,000 age group competitors at the event this weekend, too.

Frankfurt vs Roth

The race in Frankfurt started in 2002. The year before, Detlef Kuhnel, the race director of IRONMAN Germany, and the Walschofer family, who owned the race in Roth, had learned that IRONMAN had been negotiating with Frankfurt about another event. They decided to go their own way and created Challenge Roth. Ever since, the two races have duelled to be the biggest long-distance triathlon event in Germany.

The new IRONMAN Pro Series has certainly put a dent in Roth’s chances of winning that duel this year as many of the sport’s top pros have made a choice between the Professional Triathletes Organisation’s T100 Series and IRONMAN’s option. So, rather than go after a fourth-straight Roth title, Ditlev will be lining up in Frankfurt on the weekend. The Pro Series is likely what made Frankfurt the go-to choice for all the rest of the big names we’ve already mentioned in the field, too.

Can Anyone Touch Blummenfelt?

Barring another projectile vomiting issue (which didn’t stop him from winning the race in Frankfurt last year), or a flat tire (which did slow him down enough to put him out of contention in Oceanside earlier this year), it is very hard to imagine there’s a more prohibitive favorite in the race than Blummenfelt. Not that a win for the Norwegian would be easy. Ditlev has managed to dial in peak fitness at this time of the year for the past three years, and could take a flyer on the bike in an attempt to open up a big gap on the fast runners in the field. The operative word there is “could” – traditionally there’s a decent sized lead bike group in Frankfurt, with Kona-like dynamics on the bike setting the day up for a competitive run. All of which plays nicely into Blummenfelt’s hands.

Could Lange Finally Claim a Frankfurt Win?

Patrick Lange gives chase on the run at the Ironman World Championship Kona 2024. Photo: Kevin Mackinnon

If you asked Patrick Lange whether winning in Kona was more important than winning in Frankfurt, there’s no doubt that he’d pick the world championship. That doesn’t mean winning on home turf on German national television wouldn’t be a big deal. Lange won in Roth in 2021, then finished second there in 2022 and 2023 to Ditlev. His best result in Frankfurt was a third-place finish in 2018. A win in Frankfurt would round out Lange’s resume and improve on his legendary status in long-distance-loving Germany. After pulling out of IRONMAN Texas in May due to injury, though, its very much up in the air if the German super-runner has been able to put in the training to scream through a marathon split fast enough to win the race. If he can stay within contact on the bike, as he did in Kona last year, and we don’t see a blistering run performance from Blummenfelt or Ditlev, he could use those prodigious run talents to add another big win to his resume.

Speaking of coming back from injury, It will be interesting to see where Gustav Iden fits into the picture. After missing the tail end of 2023 and the early part of 2024, Iden has been steadily building up in fitness. After his third in Oceanside, though, the Norwegian struggled in Texas and IRONMAN 70.3 Pays d’Aix. Are things getting back on track enough to compete for a podium finish against this field?

Other Contenders

Rudy Von Berg took third in Texas after swimming and biking with Blummenfelt. He’s got his Nice spot and nothing to lose by going for it on the run – but that’s not the American’s typical race style, so it’s probably a stretch to see him take a flyer. If others falter, though, Von Berg’s consistency should put him in a decent position.

Jonas Schomburg surprised many with his IRONMAN debut in South Africa where he was able to stay at the front until 90 km into the bike (he would eventually take third). The group dynamics in Frankfurt are likely to help the German, especially on the bike, and he’ll certainly have lots of crowd support on the run.

Kieran Lindars had a stellar 2024 including that runner-up finish (thanks to a 2:37 marathon) in Frankfurt and an eighth-place finish in Kona. The Brit hasn’t qualified for Kona, though, so it would seem foolish for him to take a flyer and jeopardize a Nice slot.

Daniel Baekkegard appeared to be ready to take his spot at the top of the long-distance ranks in 2023 – he followed up a runner-up finish to Lange at the tail end of 2022, then finished fourth in Roth before blasting through a 2:37 marathon to top the Aussies on home turf at IRONMAN Western Australia. Sidelined by a back injury in 2024, the Dane has fought his way back this year, taking fourth in Texas in May. When fit, Baekkegard can be in the mix with the best in the world.

Pressure vs Nothing to Lose

It’s hard to describe just how big a deal the races in Frankfurt, Hamburg and Roth are for triathlon fans and athletes in Germany. The events are televised live and there is lots of media attention around the races. Add to all that the insanely competitive field for Sunday’s race and you have an event that will feel more like a world championship than it won’t. Being able to handle all that pressure will be a deciding factor in the race.

That pressure is going to sit more on the big names in the race – the defending champ, the reigning Kona champ and the three-time Roth winner. For those who already have their Nice spots, there’s really not a lot to lose and the upside is pretty good – a decent pay day and a nice bump in the IRONMAN Pro Series standings.

All of which should make for a very entertaining day of racing.

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